The former Toronto Maple Leafs captain, now replaced by
Auston Matthews, has been entangled in a legal battle with the CRA regarding his 2018 signing bonus. The central issue is whether Tavares should have been taxed under American or Canadian tax rules. According to Tavares' defense, he was still an American citizen when he signed the $77 million deal with the Leafs, thereby subjecting the signing bonus to U.S. tax regulations rather than the higher Canadian rate, which hovers around 46%.